International School Tuttlingen – a cosmopolitan education for our children

09/04/2010 | Our company

The plan initiated by KARL STORZ to establish an international school in Tuttlingen in collaboration with other local businesses has met with support. An international school would provide a new option for international families and for parents who are interested in an international education for their children, and it would simultaneously increase the attractiveness of the Tuttlingen location.

What sets international schools apart?
An international school is open to children of all ages from preschool to 12th grade and uses an international curriculum. The language of instruction is English, and students graduate with the IB Diploma, which is recognized worldwide and allows them to enter universities and universities of applied sciences both domestically and abroad. Since they are private, international schools are financed through tuition.

Educational approach
The educational approach takes advantage of children’s natural curiosity and aims to develop core competencies that promote systemic and multidisciplinary thinking. This includes the independent research and exploration of topics as well as the formation of values and social competencies. Low-performing children are not excluded but individually supported.

International School Tuttlingen (IST)
Dr. h. c. mult. Sybill Storz has been studying the model of the International School Schaffhausen (ISSH) for some time; the school was established in 1999 and offers a remarkable educational experience for children ages 3 to 16 or 19. “I’m particularly excited about two advantages: First, English-language instruction gives children attending an international school natural access to foreign languages – an advantage that will serve them well in the future. Second, such environments help children to develop into open and tolerant global citizens. Our society urgently needs these qualities and characteristics,” states the managing director of the KARL STORZ Group.

Initial talks with the city, county, Chamber of Industry and Commerce, and local industry have shown that the idea is met with enthusiasm and support. IST is scheduled to open in the fall of 2011. Initially, it will likely offer an international preschool and an international elementary school (grades 1-5). Cooperation with the International School Schaffhausen is being considered for the upper grades.

Enriching the region
As the initiator of the project International School Tuttlingen, Dr. Storz strongly believes that future-oriented educational opportunities can increase the attractiveness of the region for domestic and international professionals. However, such a school is of interest not only to new arrivals but also to parents from the area and neighboring counties who are looking for alternatives to public schools and would like to optimally prepare their children for the future by providing them with a globally-oriented education.